Curtis Bryant wins second prize in The American Prize in Composition

Alumni and former faculty member, Curtis Bryant won second prize in The American Prizein Composition, 2016, in the Opera category. Congratulations!

Atlanta native Curtis Bryant (b. 1949) has composed music for a wide variety of genres including orchestral, chamber, choral, art song, and grand opera. A seven-time Emmy Award nominee, Bryant has also composed music for film, television, and video games.

Bryant’s first opera, ZABETTE, a collaboration with librettist and historian Mary R. Bullard, is based on the true story of a Georgia plantation owner and his mixed-race mistress during the turbulent Civil War era. The world premiere production in 1999 combined the vocal talents of Georgia State University with those of Morehouse and Spellman Colleges, as well as other area universities.

Bryant’s second opera, THE SECRET AGENT, based upon a libretto by forensic psychiatrist Allen Reichman, is an adaptation of the dark 1907 novel by Joseph Conrad. The world premiere was given in 2013 by Atlanta’s Capitol City Opera Company directed by Micheal Nutter.